


Not So Bad After All

by everyroad



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-27
Updated: 2013-03-27
Packaged: 2017-12-06 17:31:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everyroad/pseuds/everyroad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry doesn't want to seem like a baby in front of the boys, so he agrees to watch the horror film with them.  Later that night he regrets that decision until Louis crawls into bed with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not So Bad After All

Harry knew that he shouldn't have watched the film with the other boys. He knew that he couldn't handle horror, especially not bloody, gory, realistic-death horror, but what kind of 17-year-old boy wants to admit that? No way in hell was he going to tell Zayn and Liam and Niall, and, certainly not Louis, that he couldn't handle watching one stupid little movie. It was one thing not to want to admit these sorts of things to your friends, but having to admit them to the boy you're also painfully and secretly in love with? That was out of the question. He couldn't have Louis thinking he was some small child. So when Niall grabbed four bags of popcorn (teenage boys can eat A LOT of popcorn in one sitting) and Liam grabbed blankets while Zayn readied the film, Harry had plopped himself down on the couch next to Louis and mentally prepared himself for the movie.

Now though, three hours after the gory movie had ended and everyone had gone to bed, Harry was really regretting not speaking up about his fear. It was already half past two in the morning, and, even though they had the next day off and didn't have to wake up at any ridiculous hour of the morning, Harry really wished he could get to sleep, but images of blood and guts and the sounds of people in intense pain filled his head, making it impossible for him to close his eyes for longer than a minute at a time without jumping out of his skin. He was alone in the room, having scored the lone double bed to himself earlier in the day, leaving Niall and Louis the room with the two singles, and Zayn and Liam the other room with the double bed [Harry had been thrilled when he'd won the rock, paper, scissors match and lucked into the bigger bed earlier, of course, Zayn and Liam always shared a bed so he had really only been competing against Niall and Louis, and to be honest, he might've preferred to share a room with Louis, but that was another point altogether], but the silence only allowed his imagination to take him further and further away.

He rolled over onto his side, his back pressed against the wall, safe, and tried to listen for sounds of the other boys, praying someone would be awake. He had left his door open just a crack, and if he strained he could make out Niall snoring from across the hall. It was comforting, at least, to know that Niall was still alive. Harry took a big gulp of oxygen and held his breath, listening for anything else, but when he couldn't hear anything he let it all out in a big sigh, startling himself with the noise it made.

He brought his hands up to eyes and rubbed them relentlessly for a few moments before glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand again. 3:08am. 

"Come on, Harry, you big baby, just go to sleep already," he hissed at himself. He was angry that he couldn't sleep, angry that he couldn't stand up for himself and just tell the other boys he didn't want to watch scary movies, and even angrier that he would need to do that in the first place. All the anger and the irritation at himself, paired with the immense and constant fear, soon had tears leaking out of his eyes. The tears only added to the frustration and soon he was a sobbing mess of a boy, curled into a tiny ball and tucked into the wall in his big bed. He pulled at his hair and rubbed at his eyes, drawing his knees up into his chest and hiding in his blankets, hoping desperately for the morning to come so he wouldn't have to be so afraid. He was so distraught and caught up in his crying that he didn't notice when the door opened.

"Haz?"

Harry's head shot up, his heart racing at the sudden noise, and his eyes fell on Louis. The older boy was naked save for a pair of too-big sweatpants and his hair was mussed at the back of his head from sleep, but his face held so much concern it made Harry even more upset. He curled back in on himself and hastily tried to wipe the tears from his face.

"Harry, are you okay, love?" Louis whispered, inching closer to the bed with each word. Harry didn't respond, and instead made himself an impossibly smaller ball in the corner of the bed. His eyes were closed but he felt it when Louis finally made his way all the way to the bed and sat down, and god if that wasn't exactly what he wanted.

"Shh, Haz, it's alright," Louis hummed, reaching out to run his hands through Harry's curls. Harry looked up at him, eyes red rimmed and puffy from crying and that was it took for Louis to scoop him up into his arms, where Harry immediately tucked his head into Louis' shoulder and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"I d-d-don't like scary movies, Lou," he sobbed, tensing his body, assuming Louis would laugh at him, but instead receiving a small peck to the top of his head.

"Oh, Haz, why didn't you just so?"

"You all wanted to w-watch it! Zayn, Zayn wanted to watch it!"

"Well that doesn't mean anything, if you had just said, Harry, we wouldn't have watched it." Louis said as he rubbed soothing circles over Harry's back, easing him through his sobbing.

"I didn't want to be a baby," Harry mumbled, barely audible. But even if Louis hadn't heard what Harry said, he could feel the burn of blush on Harry's cheeks and the realization finally hit him. His poor little Hazza.

"Haz. It's okay, I don't think you're a baby! Nobody would think that, love, we're your friends. We love you. You should've just said, Haz." Louis kissed the top of his head once more and rocked him slightly in his lap. They sat like that in silence for a few moments longer until Harry's breathing returned to normal and Louis pulled away to look at him properly. 

"I can't sleep, Lou. Will you stay?" Harry grabbed onto Louis' hand and tugged him flesh against him again, praying he wasn't crossing any boundaries and he wasn't going to be left alone to try and sleep again. His prayers were answered when Louis clambered into the bed, pulling the blankets up over himself and pulling Harry into his chest.

"Of course, Haz," he whispered as he nosed Harry's curls and pulled him into a tighter embrace, "I'd stay with you every night, if you'd let me."

"Really?" Harry pulled himself away from Louis' chest to look into his eyes. Did Louis just imply what Harry thought he did?

"Really, Haz. Can I tell you something?" Harry nodded earnestly. "I heard you for a while, before I came in here. I just, I didn't know if, I didn't know if it was okay, for me to."

"What do you mean, Lou? Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"Because, Harry, because this, us cuddling, it's something I think about a lot, okay, and I'm sure it doesn't mean as much to you as it does to me, I mean, you just need help getting to sleep but-" Louis words were cut off by a long and bony finger pressed to his lips.

"You, you think about it? About me?" Harry asked, voice laced with innocence.

"All the time, Harry," Louis responded, eyes closed and fingers curled at the nape of Harry's neck.

And Harry didn't think about his next action, he just did it. He didn't think about the movie or how he felt childish. He didn't think about Niall snoring peacefully, or Zayn and Liam wrapped up in one another in the other rooms. He didn't think about tomorrow or yesterday. He just kissed Louis for the first time and knew that nothing else really mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I know this is rather dumb and the ending seems rushed (because it is, i can't write conclusions for the life of me) but if you like it, thanks very much! <3


End file.
